JPH0198520A - Method and device for transporting and storing packaging blank by blast - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To collect, accumulate and distribute a box-like packing element opened on one face by connecting upper and lower horizontal path parts by lateral curved path parts to form a closed loop accumulating path for air- conveying the element, in a device for the transferring and accumulating of the packing element, and arranging required machines in the accumulating path. CONSTITUTION: A closed loop 1 is formed by an upper horizontal path part 2, a lower horizontal path part 3, and lateral curved connecting parts 4, 5. The upper and lower horizontal path parts 2, 3 have bottomless boxes 13, 8, respectively, and the air blown from a blower is supplied into the closed loop 1 through a slit 11 to move a packing element 10. The packing element 10 is supplied from a packing element feeding device not shown on the upstream side, moved as shown by an arrow 18, and fed to an assembling machine not shown on the downstream side. According to this structure, the packing element can be collected, accumulated and distributed in an accumulating path formed into the closed loop.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for transporting and accumulating materials using an air blower to enable collection, accumulation and distribution of such packaging materials.

A device for transporting packaging material by providing a bottomless box along the path of the packaging material and introducing air therethrough is known, for example, from U.S. Pat. No. 3,953,076. The earthen walls of this bottomless box have punched holes and horizontal slits. The low pressure air delivered into the bottomless box supports and propels the packaging material being transported.

In the production and assembly of such packaging materials, smooth belt conveyors can also be used to provide connections between different production and assembly machines. Means are provided for accumulating and storing a number of packaging materials to accommodate irregularities in the operation of various machines, generally at different speeds.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,105,720 discloses transporting packaging material to such an accumulator by means of air blowing. Here, different types of packaging materials are waiting on a horizontal plate. Storage devices are already known which serve as a connection between several machines upstream and downstream. In such storage devices, the waiting packaging materials are integrated in a horizontal ring circuit.

These known devices occupy a large amount of space and their storage capacity has become inadequate as machine operating speeds have increased in recent years.

As a result, machines located upstream and downstream of the storage device become highly interdependent.

If the packaging material is in the form of a box with one side open and it is necessary to change its position before assembling it, a complex position changing device is required in addition to the above-mentioned known devices. It also has the disadvantage that the overall size is also large.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a transfer/accumulation device which can secure a large storage capacity while reducing the space occupied, and which also enables automatic reversal of box-shaped packaging materials with one side open. The purpose is to simplify the connection between the storage device and different upstream and downstream machines.

The device according to the invention for transporting and storing packaging material in the form of an open box uses a blower device in the closed loop storage path. At least one upstream machine is connected to this closed loop storage path and is supplied with packaging material from this machine. This storage path is also connected to at least one downstream machine, which is supplied with packaging material from the storage path. According to the invention, the aforementioned closed loop is arranged substantially vertically and consists of an upper horizontal channel section, a lower horizontal channel section located directly below it, and two curved end connecting sections.

In some machines it is connected to the upper part of the above-mentioned passage, and in other machines it is connected to the lower part.

The packaging material is arranged unidirectionally on the upper part of said path and upside down on the lower part.

Under these conditions, one machine can be connected simultaneously to the upper and lower parts of the above-mentioned path in order to carry out a double feeding of the packaging material in one direction and in the other.

The closed loop is preferably formed by a bottomless box (caisson);
Blow air into this. The top surface of this bottomless box is partitioned by a perforated wall with slits inclined in the direction of transport of the packaging material.

The end connection portion corresponding to the lifting of the packaging material preferably includes a second ventilation box arranged inside the closed loop. This second bottomless box can be omitted depending on the packaging material to be transported and depending on the level difference between the upper and lower passage sections.

The packaging material is preferably of circular cross section and the closed loop has an air transfer apron. This air transfer apron is capable of receiving several packaging materials side by side without separation except at the end lateral guide members. The packaging materials then overlap each other. The circular cross-section allows the packaging materials to undergo relative rotation once they come into contact with each other, such that the group of packaging materials moves successively in a closed loop in a vertical arrangement.

In another embodiment applied to packaging materials of non-circular cross-section, the closed loop includes a blow transfer apron and a separation and side guiding device that maintains the packaging materials in at least one side-by-side line. In order to increase the storage capacity, the rows of such packaging material are preferably arranged side by side, and all the rows of packaging material are moved along a closed loop in a vertical arrangement as described above.

All machines located upstream of the storage device are preferably connected to the first horizontal path section of the closed loop.

On the other hand, a machine located downstream of the accumulator is connected to the first horizontal path section of the closed loop to receive the packaging material in the same position as it came out of the upstream machine, and also to the first horizontal path section of the closed loop. It is also connected to the horizontal path portion of No. 2 so that it can also receive packaging materials in an inverted position.

The connection to different machines is also preferably formed by a bottomless box for ventilation with side guides.

Side guide members define each row of packaging material.

The bottomless box is suitably inclined, so as to eliminate the level difference between the corresponding machine and the horizontal passage section to which it is to be connected. This connection can be made without any difficulty in the direction perpendicular to the path of the closed loop.

The outlet connection for the packaging material is preferably facilitated by providing a number of slits forming a closed-loop transfer apron. These slits face the outlet near the outlet connection.

Generally, the method of transporting and storing open box packaging material according to the present invention employs a blower device in a closed loop storage path that includes an inlet connection and an outlet connection.

The method of the invention causes the packaging material to move along a substantially vertical path in the closed loop, thus removing the packaging material accumulated in the closed loop into both the upper horizontal path section and the lower horizontal path section. A packaging material in this manner and a packaging material in an inverted orientation are automatically obtained.

Below, preferred embodiments of the present invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The invention will now be explained in more detail with reference to examples.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the apparatus of the present invention is designated by reference numeral 1.
Contains a closed loop shown in its entirety by . This closed loop 1 is
It comprises an upper horizontal channel section 2 and a lower horizontal channel section 3 connected to this upper horizontal channel section by a curved connecting section 4 at one end and by a curved end section 5 at the other end. The connecting part 4 allows the packaging material to rise, and the end part 5 allows it to descend. The entire device stands on a floor 6 by means of vertical columns 7. The entire width and length of the lower horizontal passage section 3 is occupied by a bottomless box 8 for blowing air. The top wall 9 of this bottomless box 8 forms a transport apron for the packaging material 10, which has transverse slits 11 (FIG. 4) ensuring the movement of the packaging material 10 and providing support for the packaging material 10. The hole 12 is provided with a hole 12. Several slits 11 and holes 12 are schematically shown in FIG.

The upper horizontal channel section 2 is likewise formed by a bottomless box 13 for blowing air. The top wall of this bottomless box 13 has a plurality of transverse slits and holes, as in the case of the top wall 9.

At the descending connection part 4, the first bent outer bottomless box 1
5 and a second curved inner bottomless box 16. A path of packaging material is provided between these bottomless boxes 15,16. Each of these bottomless boxes is separated from the path of packaging material by a curved plate. This curved plate follows this path and has holes and slits for propulsion by blowing air.

A plurality of elongated guide rods 17 are provided around the closed loop l and above the plates 9 and 14, thereby holding the packaging material lO. The lower end of the connecting part 5 does not have a bottomless box for ventilation, but only a bent guide rod 17. The packaging material passes from the upper part 2 to the lower part 3 simply by gravity.

In FIG. 1, arrow 18 indicates the direction of movement of the packaging material within the storage device of the invention. The same arrow 18 is also shown in FIG.

1 and 2, the blower 1 is shown very diagrammatically.
9 is shown. This blower 19 is for delivering low-pressure air and is connected to a different support and propulsion bottomless box.

In FIG. 2, for example, an upstream feeding machine 20 and a downstream assembly machine 21 are schematically shown. The upstream machine 20, for example a machine for producing packaging materials 10, is connected to the upper part of the closed loop I by means of a connection path 22 formed by a bottomless box 23 for air blowing, the upper surface of which delimits each row of separate packaging materials 10. It is connected to the horizontal passage section 2. The packaging material 10 coming from the machine 20 is transported by air from a transverse slit formed in the top surface of the bottomless box 23, while being held by the upper guide member 24 shown in FIG. machine l
In order to eliminate the level difference between the upper horizontal channel section 2 and the upper horizontal channel section 2, the connecting channel 22 causes the packaging material 10 to rise under the action of an additional blower 25. For this reason, as can be seen from FIGS. 2 and 3, the packaging material 10 coming from the machine 2G is deflected by 90 degrees to the upper horizontal passage section 2 of the closed loop, and then by the air coming from the bottomless box 13. It is carried on the transfer plate 14 as shown by arrow 18.

There are different packaging materials, such as a box-shaped packaging material with one side open as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, and a packaging material with a circular cross section as shown in FIG.

Closed loop! All of the packaging material 10 in the form of a box moving over it constitutes storage without internal separation. These boxes rotate relative to each other and are simply connected to the rod 17 and the side walls 26 (FIG. 3).
will be guided by.

For illustrative purposes, downstream assembly machine 21 is shown in FIG. This assembly machine accepts two groups of packaging materials simultaneously. One group of packaging materials is a group of packaging materials in an inverted position and is intended for assembly as shown in FIG. This assembly takes place with a first packaging material 10a forming the bottom of the box, a cylindrical insert 27, and a second packaging material 10b of the same shape as the first packaging material but upside down; The box is completed. Therefore, it is necessary to supply the machine 21 with a packaging material 10a serving as the bottom and a packaging material 10b serving as the cover.

Due to the vertical closed-loop arrangement of the storage device according to the invention, the above-mentioned double supply can be carried out very easily.

This means that a first connecting channel 28 communicating with the upper horizontal channel section 2 and a second connecting channel 2 communicating with the lower horizontal channel section 3
Do this with 9. Connecting paths 28 defining each separate row of packaging material
receives a row of packaging materials 10 or bottoms 10a with their bottoms facing down as illustrated in the drawings, while connecting channel 29 receives rows of packaging materials IO or cover jobs inverted.

The vertical appearance of the packaging material 10 is facilitated by the presence of the slits 11a and slits flb. Slit Ll
a is slightly inclined in the direction of the connecting channel 28.29, and the slit lb is in the axis of the connecting channel 28.29.

Therefore, the packaging material 10 moving in the direction of the arrow 18 preferably moves through the connecting path 28.2 perpendicular to the upper and lower horizontal path portions 2.3.
9 and the upper horizontal channel section 2 or the lower horizontal channel section 3. The release of the packaging material 10 thus takes place automatically without the need for any other transport or redirection means.

In the illustrated embodiment, the connecting channel 28 allows the bottom 10a to be lowered, the discharge being directed to a bottomless box 30 (FIG. 3) for the discharge blower.
facilitated by The upper guide rod 31 prevents the packaging material from escaping when it descends in the connection channel 28 due to gravity. The connecting path 29 faces slightly upward, and the cover 1
The movement of 0b is effected by air from a bottomless air box 32 provided with propulsion slots and support holes. The guide rod 33 ensures that the cover 10b is held as it moves over the connecting channel 29.

In the embodiment illustrated in the figures, the packaging materials rotate as a whole on the vertical closed loop i of the storage device because of their circular cross section. The width of the closed loop l can be adapted to the number of machines to be connected and to the desired storage capacity.

In other embodiments, where the articles to be transported and stored have different cross-sectional shapes, the device of the invention can be easily applied by separating parallel rows of packaging material moving along vertical paths of the closed loop l from each other. can.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic elevational view of a transfer and storage device according to the invention;
2 is a plan view of the device shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line ■-■ in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a schematic sectional view of the device for supporting and propelling the packaging material; FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the assembly of a complete package from packaging material stored in the apparatus of the invention. ! ...Closed loop, 2.. Upper horizontal path section, 3.. Lower horizontal path section, 4.. Connection section, 5.. End section or connection section, 6.. Floor, 7.. Vertical column, 8.. bottomless box, 9.
・Plate, lO・・Packaging material, 11・・Slit, 12・・
Hole, 13... Bottomless box, 14... Board, 15. 16... Bottomless box, 17... Guide rod, 19... Blower, 20...
・Machine, 21.. Machine, 22.. Connection path, 23.. Bottomless box, 24.. Upper guide member, 25.. Blower, 26.
- Side wall, 27... Cylindrical insert, 28... First connection path, 29... Second connection path, 30... Bottomless box, 31...
Upper part guide rod, 32...Bottomless box. (1 other person) FIG, 4 FIG, 5

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A device for transporting and accumulating packaging material in the shape of a box with one side open using a blower device in a closed loop (1) accumulation path, the device supplying the packaging material to the accumulation path. at least one upstream machine (20) and at least one downstream machine (20) fed with said packaging material from said accumulation path.
in a device connected to said closed loop (1);
) is arranged substantially vertically and it connects an upper horizontal channel section (2) with a lower horizontal channel section (3) located below this upper horizontal channel section and two curved connecting sections (4, 5).
, wherein one machine is connected to the upper part of the storage path and another machine is connected to the lower part of the storage path. 2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the closed loop is formed by a bottomless box (8, 13) for blowing air, and the top surface of this bottomless box has a perforated wall (8, 13) provided with a slit inclined in the transport direction of the packaging material. 9, 14). 3. The device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the end connection part (4) corresponding to the rising part of the packaging material further includes a second bottomless ventilation box (16) arranged in the closed loop.
). 4. Apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the packaging material (10) is of circular cross-sectional shape and that the closed loop (1) allows several packaging materials to be placed laterally without separation. A device characterized in that it includes a blow transfer apron that can be received side by side. 5. Apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the closed loop (1) comprises an air transfer apron and a separating and lateral guiding device for maintaining the packaging material in at least one row. A device that does this. 6. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the upstream machines (20) are all connected to the same first horizontal path section of the closed loop, and that the downstream machines (21) ) is connected to said first horizontal path section of said closed loop to receive the packaging material (10a) in the position emerging from said upstream machine, while said second horizontal path section of said closed loop Apparatus characterized in that it is connected to a section and adapted to receive a packaging material (10b) in an inverted position. 7. A device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, in which the connection to the different machines is made by means of a bottomless box for ventilation with side guides defining each separate row of packaging material; A device characterized in that a bottomless box is appropriately tilted so as to eliminate a level difference between a corresponding machine and a connected horizontal path portion. 8. Apparatus according to claim 7, characterized in that the connection is made perpendicular to the path of the closed loop. 9. Device according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that the discharge connection is facilitated by a slit facing the outlet in the vicinity of the outlet connection. 10 A method for transporting and storing packaging material in the form of an open-sided box in a closed-loop storage path having an inlet connection and an outlet connection using a blower, the method comprising: transporting said packaging material in a substantially vertical closed-loop path; moving and removing the packaging material thus accumulated in said closed loop both from the upper horizontal channel section (2) and from the lower horizontal channel section (3), with the packaging material (10a) in one position. A method characterized in that the packaging material (10b) is automatically obtained in an inverted position.